


Pure Desire

by Lokne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark Harry, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Genderswap, Minor Character Death, Pre-Relationship, Professor Tom Riddle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:11:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokne/pseuds/Lokne
Summary: Lunicera Potter stared at Hermione and bit back a dark laugh. Stop Voldemort? Why would the silly Muggle-born think she would want to stop the only person who had ever cared about her? Why would she fight against the one man who had given her a reason to live?
Relationships: Future Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr./Female Harry Potter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 319





	Pure Desire

“You have to stop You-Know-Who, Lunicera. It has to be you!” Hermione argued. She held out a vial that contained the potion which would allow Lunicera to bypass the flames and enter the last chamber, where a servant of Voldemort’s would be waiting.

Lunicera Potter stared at Hermione and bit back a dark laugh. Stop Voldemort? Why would the silly Muggle-born think she would want to stop the only person who had ever cared about her? Why would she fight against the one man who had given her a reason to live? Lunicera had no intention of entering the next room and saving the day, though she would never tell Hermione that. It would only confuse and hurt the girl.

Ever since Lunicera had shaken Ron Weasley’s hand on the Hogwarts Express, she knew that he would be pliable to her needs. He was weak-willed and longed to prove himself to the world. He longed to be a hero and have wealth and titles to call his own. When Ron had looked in the Mirror or Erised and saw the House Cup, Lunicera knew the perfect way to charm and manipulate him. All she needed to do was give Ron a knight’s quest and he would follow her until he perished trying to save her.

Hermione’s loyalty had been even easier. All Hermione ever wanted was to be included. She didn’t need many friends, but she longed to know that someone valued her opinions and would listen to her advice. So when Quirinus Quirrell let the Mountain Troll into the school on Voldemort’s orders, Lunicera hadn’t hesitated to rescue Hermione from the girl’s bathroom.

Everything had fallen into place, and Lunicera could feel victory within her grasp. Lunicera stared at Hermione’s determined eyes and cast her gaze to the floor. “I don’t know if I can do this, Hermione. What if I fail?”

Hermione chuckled despite the dire circumstances. “You won’t fail. Both Ron and I will be with you in spirit. You’re strong Lunicera, I believe in you.”

Lunicera took the vial and downed the contents in one gulp, watching with narrowed eyes as Hermione did the same. She grasped Hermione’s hand and squeezed it in reassurance. “Thanks, Hermione. I couldn’t have done this without you.” 

It was one hundred percent truth. Everything had been perfectly calculated to peak their interest. Lunicera charming the staircase to take them to the third corridor, Mrs. Norris finding them, telling them about Hagrid removing something from Gringotts the same day she went to her vault, Hermione finding the section about Nicholas Flamel. Lunicera had been planning all year so that it would finally lead to this. She was one room away from the Philosopher’s Stone and immortality.

“On three?”

“On three.”

Lunicera waited a second longer than Hermione to make sure that the Muggle-born actually kept up her end of the deal. Wait with Ron until help came . . . if it came. Her posture changed as soon as Hermione left the chamber, giving her a more regal appearance. She hated pretending that she didn’t know her proper station, but at the moment it was her main defense against Dumbledore. If he continued to think she was naïve and malleable then he would be far easier to use in the future.

The last room was brightly lit with sconces. The flames flickered along the stone walls, as shadows danced like freely flowing murals. The room was large and empty except for Professor Quirrell and a tall free standing mirror. She walked on silent feet toward her betrothed’s servant. He had been very useful this year. She had been surprised when the Dark Lord told her who would become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Quirinus Quirrell was a clumsy oaf that botched everything he put his hands on. If Quirrell failed in his assigned task he would be fed to Nagini.

“My Lord sends his salutations,” she said, smirking when he visibly jumped. He always jumped at shadows. 

Quirrell sketched a deep bow. “Dark Lady.”

“Have you retrieved the stone?” she demanded. She continued to gaze into the mirror and ignored him. He wouldn’t be able to rise until she gave him permission, and she didn’t feel like being generous at the moment.

“I have not. I only see myself.”

Lunicera sneered. Of course he was worthless. Quirrell was unable to perform even the smallest of tasks. She calmed her growing rage and thought back to everything that Voldemort had told her about the Philosopher’s Stone and how to get it. Hermione had mentioned something about people only wanting to use it for evil and other such rot. But Lunicera didn’t want to use the stone for evil. She only wanted immortality so she could remain with her lord forever.

Lunicera had been alone for years. Left in a Muggle home and forgotten. If her lord hadn’t rescued her from her isolation, she would have become more damaged than she already was. She knew a piece of her was broken. Lunicera could feel it rubbing jagged wounds in her mind. She could feel it growing when she went to sleep. If they weren’t able to steal the Philosopher’s Stone, then they would have to resort to drastic measures and create a Horcrux. 

The thought of dividing her soul was repugnant, but it would rip away the part of her mind and soul that was wrong. It would give Lunicera a chance at a normal life, one that she wanted desperately. She gazed into her green eyes in the mirror and pleaded with her reflection. Please. She needed the stone. She loved him.

Her reflection winked as a heavy weight settled in her hand. Her fingers clenched around the stone as if she couldn’t believe it was real. She placed it in the pocket of her robe and turned to Quirrell. She smiled at his annoyed, flushed face. She didn’t know how long she had been looking at the mirror, but it had been enough to make his legs shake from the effort of remaining still.

Lunicera waved a hand and he rose. “The Dark Lord is pleased with your efforts. You have done well.” She pointed her wand at him and muttered a dark curse she had learned a few days ago. It was a cremation spell used in mortuaries by purebloods who didn’t want anyone stealing their blood or hair after they died. 

She watched in fascination as his body painfully burned into ash. She cast a few more innocuous spells so no would think she was powerful or dark enough to cast such a spell. Priori Incantatum only went back so far before it could no longer retrieve past spells. 

She glanced around the chamber as she decided how to play out the next act. Quirrell was dead and she had the stone. She forced panic to the forefront of her mind and her heart thumped loudly in her ears. She purposely gasped in air as she hyperventilated. Black spots dotted her vision as her plan took form. She slumped to the ground unconscious and waited to be rescued.

Lunicera felt gentle hands pick her up and the warmth of protection. She almost swatted the hand away when it took the stone from her pocket, but she stopped when the chest chuckled. She smiled and snuggled against it. She knew who it was. Everything would be okay. She was safe.

Lunicera felt the hospital sheets and smelled the antiseptic as she opened her eyes. She groaned and placed a hand to her aching head. Next time she would think of a better plan that didn’t involve passing out. She hit her head. She blinked to clear her mind of sleepiness and almost yelped when she noticed Dumbledore sitting in a chair beside her bed.

“What happened? Ah! Hermione. Ron! Are they okay?”

Dumbledore leaned forward in the chair and grasped her hand. “They are fine, Lunicera. They were released from the hospital two days ago. As for what happened . . . I only know so much, I’m afraid. When your head of house checked to make sure that everyone in Gryffindor was bedded down for the night, he realized that three were missing—Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley and you.” He gave her a chiding look.

Lunicera mentally rolled her eyes. She didn’t need a lecture about making wrong decisions or that it would have been better to tell an adult. She only trusted one adult, and it certainly wasn’t Dumbledore. 

“Ah, you’re awake. That’s good news.” 

Lunicera smiled at her head of house. She felt safer having him near her. She knew that her wand was only a foot away on the end table to her left, but she still felt vulnerable in Dumbledore’s presence. 

“Mr. Gaunt, what brings you to the hospital wing?” Dumbledore asked.

Marvolo Gaunt smiled and sat in the other chair. He crossed his hands over his chest and gazed at Dumbledore in a challenge. “One of my Gryffindors was attacked three days ago by a mad man. She was injured, and I wanted to make sure that she was feeling well. I also figured that she might have questions, and since I was the one that raised the alarm and made sure she was safe, it would only be right for me to tell her of the events that led to her rescue.”

Dumbledore released her hand and sat back in his chair. He stroked his beard a few times and then nodded. “Right you are, Mr. Gaunt.” He rose from his chair and smiled at them. “I’ll leave her in your tender care.”

Marvolo waited until Dumbledore left and then continued the story where Dumbledore left off. “You left a petrified Mister Longbottom in the common room, so it wasn’t difficult to figure out that you all left for some nefarious purpose. I restored him to normal and he told me what the three of you planned to do. We have suspected that Quirrell was working for the Dark Lord, but we had no way to prove it.”

Lunicera made sure she kept the amusement off her face as Marvolo continued to act as if he hadn’t instigated the whole thing from the beginning. It had been Marvolo’s idea to send Fenrir Greyback to break into Gringotts and ‘steal’ the stone. Due to Marvolo’s plans, Dumbledore decided that the only safe place to keep the stone was Hogwarts. Dumbledore had brought the stone right to the Dark Lord and Dark Lady without being the wiser. 

“Since I was one of the teachers that helped to create the trials and traps for protecting the stone, I knew what I needed to do at each stage. I made sure that Miss Granger and Mister Weasley were safe and had proper medical care. When I found you, you were unconscious and the stone was gone. We can only assume that it is now in the Dark Lord’s possession.”

Lunicera’s eyes sparkled with mirth. Indeed it was. “W-what about Professor Quirrell? I don’t understand. After I got the stone, he grabbed my arm.” Marvolo’s eyes flashed with rage at her pronouncement. She subtly shook her head to inform him that she was adlibbing. “He started screaming. And his body started to crumble into ash! I-I think I killed him.”

Marvolo gazed into the distance for a minute and then smiled at her. He held her hand to give her comfort. “It would seem that your mother’s sacrifice has further reaching consequences than we thought. The intense love that your mother felt for you right before her death created a protective barrier around you, which means that Voldemort will never be able to touch you without feeling pain.”

Lunicera looked at their hands and almost burst into laughter. How did he come up with  _ that _ ? Her mother’s love created a barrier? She mentally snorted. The thought was utterly ridiculous.

“Thank you for telling me, Professor Gaunt. I feel better knowing that about my mum.” She let tears gather in her eyes. “Thank you for saving me.”

Marvolo nodded and then startled, as if he had just remembered something. “I forgot. Severus asked me to bring this to you. He said that it would help your head. You hit it when you fell, didn’t you?”

Lunicera’s hands shook as she stared at the gold liquid in the vial. It was a liquid Philosopher’s Stone. If she drank it, she would not only be healed but she would be able to remain by Marvolo’s side forever. The taste of apples burst across her tongue as she drank it. It tasted like eternity and a promise that she would be able to keep. She closed her eyes as the dark, jagged pieces of her mind and soul became whole. For the first time in her life she felt complete and normal. She was pure.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr if you’re interested.


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